TALLAHASSEE, Fla. – A veteran law enforcement officer has been selected to lead the Florida Department of Education's new Office of Safe Schools established after the mass shooting at a Parkland high school.
FDOE Commissioner Pam Stewart announced Tuesday, on the deadline Gov. Rick Scott set, that the department had selected Damien Kelly to lead the new office.
Kelly is currently a Florida Department of Law Enforcement special agent. He has worked for FDLE since 2005, most recently as a public corruption inspector. Kelly has expertise in domestic violence, international affairs, surveillance, interrogation and gang investigations, according to a news release.
Before joining the FDLE, Kelly was a police officer in Memphis, Tennessee.
“We are thrilled for Special Agent Damien Kelly to join our team. With 25 years of experience as a law enforcement officer specializing in a variety of different areas, he will complement the wide-ranging expertise of our agency’s staff," Stewart said. "All Florida students and educators deserve safe school environments, and I look forward to working with Agent Kelly as we collaborate with statewide law enforcement partners and school districts to enhance school safety.”
The Office of Safe Schools was established as part of the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Public Safety Act passed after the Feb. 14 shooting during which 17 students and staff were killed.
Scott sent a letter to school district superintendents and school boards that said each district must meet new safety guidelines established under the Public Safety Act.
Under the new law, every teacher, student, faculty member and school safety officer must undergo active shooter training at least once a semester.
Each district will also have a school safety specialist and conduct security risk assessments for each public school campus.